Richmond judge rules findings into deadly Graduation Day shooting should be released to the public

RICHMOND, Va. -- Most of the findings of a third-party investigation into a deadly shooting that happened after last summer's Huguenot High School graduation ceremony should be released to the public.

That's the ruling of a circuit court judge who presided over a lawsuit filed by WTVR CBS 6 News and the Richmond Times-Dispatch (RTD) against the Richmond School Board.

In an opinion issued Tuesday, Judge Reilly Marchant stated that Richmond Public Schools (RPS) had failed to prove that the entire report should be withheld as a result of attorney-client privilege.

While the probe of the June 6, 2023 tragedy outside of the Altria Theater had been carried out by the law firm Sands Anderson, Marchant said that "the report, taken as a whole, was not created for the primary purpose of providing legal advice, and the express terms of the resolution, upon which the report is based, are very clear in that regard."

During a daylong hearing Friday, CBS 6 and the RTD argued that the attorney-client privilege the board had cited should not apply to this situation, because the motivation behind the report was to better understand the circumstances surrounding the shooting - not legal advice.

In approving a motion on August 14, 2023 to initiate the investigation and in public discussion during school board meetings, board members never requested legal advice pertaining to the shooting.

"Clearly nothing within the four corners of the 8/14/2023 resolution sought legal advice. The resolution is very straightforward in what the School Board wanted from the investigation, and legal advice was not included," Judge Marchant wrote.

The judge went on to point out that one board member actually asked during the August 14 meeting whether "legal issues" should be incorporated into the motion, but that it wasn't discussed further and the motion passed without any amendments.

Judge Marchant added "a non-privileged document does not somehow become privileged simply because it includes information the owner would prefer not to disclose" and that the attorney-client exemption "does not protect documents and other communications simply because they are the result of an attorney-client relationship."

"The judge has more wisdom than the School Board of the City of Richmond. Granted, that’s a pretty low bar. Thank God this judge ruled in favor of transparency, and candidly, all of our stakeholders in RPS and the City of Richmond have a right to know how our district failed them, and failed them a pretty big way," said board member Jonathan Young. “The City of Richmond as a whole will demand accountability for repeated failures, for a complete disregard of student welfare.”

Young and board member Kenya Gibson were two members, in the minority on the nine-member board, who were consistently outspoken in support of making the report public.

Gibson said she was "thrilled" to learn the report would be released.

“I’m not surprised, because it was clear. It was evident. This was never about protecting the district. It was about protecting the students and staff, and making sure we don’t make this happen again," Gibson said. “All I can say is thank you to press including CBS 6 and the Richmond Times-Dispatch for doing the work that the school board should have done.”

Board member Dr. Shonda Harris-Muhammed, who introduced the motion to authorize an independent audit to begin with, said she never intended her motion to be interpreted as requesting legal counsel.

"I am pleased that the Judge ruled in favor of transparency. I would like our community to know that whatever happens in the future, we must stand together through the growth of our school division. I have shared publicly since 2021, the operations within Richmond Public Schools have been a deep concern for me," Harris-Muhammed said in a statement to CBS 6 Tuesday. "In addition, I have always shared concerns that as a school division we have deep rooted unbalances regarding our operations and instructional practices as a school division."

Though board member Mariah White voted against a November 20 motion to release the report, she told CBS 6 Tuesday that she has always advocated for "full transparency" and supports the judge's ruling.

CBS 6 has also reached out to board members Liz Doerr, Dawn Page, and Cheryl Burke for comment and is still awaiting a response. None of those board members voted in favor of authorizing the investigation or releasing the findings.

Two people, including Huguenot graduate Shawn Jackson, were killed during the shooting. Several others were wounded.

Some board members had previously described the findings of the investigation as "damning," "alarming," and "deeply concerning."

Certain board members also raised questions about Shawn Jackson's attendance at the ceremony, considering he was a homebound student at the time due to the "threat of neighborhood violence," according to emails obtained by CBS 6.

Judge Marchant has ordered the school board to produce the report to us, with minimal redactions, before 1 p.m. on Wednesday.

"The [School Board] Chair [Stephanie Rizzi] and I welcome the release of the report," Richmond Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras said after the ruling. "We will have a full statement tomorrow."

This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.

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